by Texas Homesteader ~
Did you know you can make a sweet gummy-style chewy candy using excess garden squash? It’s TRUE! Making the candy is simple & we loved the cherry flavor.
(Note: Some links in this post will take you to other related articles for further information. But links preceded with * are affiliate links. If you click and buy something I could receive a tiny commission.)
What To Do With Too Much Garden Squash
Squash is a prolific vegetable. Summer gardens are often overloaded with zucchini & yellow summer squash. You anxiously enjoy it the moment it’s harvest-able in the spring.
Meat & cheese stuffed Squash Boats are always a fun way to enjoy excess squash.
I also enjoy including squash / zucchini as part of a healthy Roasted Vegetable Medley.
And surprise of surprises I’ve even made BANANA PUDDING from excess garden summer squash! (spoiler alert: It’s delicious!)
But soon your family tires of squash every night. Still that squash harvest keeps coming.
Every. Single. Day.
You can’t stand to see that beautiful garden produce go to waste. But “What’s a girl to do?” you wonder to yourself as you slowly disappear beneath the growing squash harvest pile…
Can You Make Candy From Squash?
RancherMan is a grazer and he loves to grab a handful of something to snack on throughout the day. Lately he’s really enjoyed dried fruit such as cranberries or raisins. But, you know, that gets expensive after a while.
So I made sweet cherry gummy-style chews from excess garden squash to satisfy RancherMan’s snacking urge.
Use Yellow Squash or Zucchini To Make Gummy Chew Candy?
I’ve used both yellow summer squash as well as zucchini to make this sweet cherry gummy chew candy. Both are delicious. But zucchini is easier when making the gummy chews.
Zucchini is uniformly shaped and easy to just peel and slice ½” coins for a more uniform batch of candy.
Can You Use Overgrown Squash To Make Sweet Cherry Chew Candy?
I’ll use overly mature squash if that’s all I have. You’ll need to peel and then scrape out the larger seed section middle to use it.
This results in a C-shaped piece of candy instead of a round. So I prefer to use squash that are not overgrown if at all possible for more uniform pieces.
Cherry Flavored Simple Syrup
First I make cherry-flavored simple syrup:
1 part sugar
4 parts water
Two packets of unsweetened cherry drink mix
I simmered the syrup and drink mix together, stirring until all sugar was dissolved. Then I turned off the heat.
Preparing Squash For Gummy Candy
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Wash, trim ends & peel squash. (Scoop out any larger seeds with a spoon.)
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Cut the squash to ½” – 1″ chunks
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Cover squash chunks with cherry-flavored syrup.
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Simmer squash for 20-30 minutes or until lightly tender.
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Dehydrating Squash Cherry Gummies
After simmering I thoroughly drained the cooked squash and laid it onto my *Excalibur Dehydrator trays.
I tried to evenly space the pieces on the trays without allowing them to touch each other.
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Dehydrate flavored squash until lightly tacky but no longer sticky.
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The time for dehydrating varies based on your your humidity level, how thick you cut your squash chunks, etc. It can be anywhere from 8 to 12 hours.
For my Excalibur dehydrator I set the temperature to 135 degrees. Mine were about right in 8 hours.
Make Sure Cherry Gummy Candy Is Dry
When the cherry candy was dehydrated I turned off my dehydrator I left them on the trays inside the dehydrator overnight. That just helps assure the pieces are completely air dried.
Finally, I put them in jars but left them on the counter for a couple of days with the lids loose in the event any moisture remained.
Now that my cherry chews are done I can offer them to RancherMan to enjoy over the next 30 days or so. Sometimes I store them in the refrigerator, sometimes just in a jar on our counter.
RancherMan raved and kept coming back again and again grabbing handfuls of these treats. So they were GONE well before 30 days!
We Love Cherry-Flavored Gummy Chews Candy
I’d say this was certainly successful – he’s still raving! I’m able to provide RancherMan’s sweet chewy treats but I’m not having to purchase them.
Plus this cherry-flavored gummy chews candy is making delicious use out of my mountains of garden squash (both yellow summer squash and zucchini).
And, you know, my friends and family no longer run from me when they see me approach with more garden squash to offload on them! LOL Here’s the recipe as I made it:
Did you make this sweet cherry chews candy? Please rate the recipe in your comment below!
Sweet Cherry Gummy Chews
Is your garden giving you TONS of squash? Have you ever heard of making a sweet treat with it? OMGosh y'all - you're gonna love these cherry gummy chews made from squash! #TexasHomesteader
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 cups water
- 2 envelopes unsweetened cherry drink mix
Instructions
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Prepare squash by washing, trimming ends, and peeling. Cut larger squash in quarters longways & scoop out any larger seeds with a spoon. Cut squash into chunks of about ½" - 1".
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Make enough simple syrup in a ratio of 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. (For a medium-large saucepan - dissolve 1 cup sugar into 4 cups water) Add 2 packets of unsweetened cherry drink mix. Simmer while stirring to thoroughly combine & completely dissolve sugar.
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Add prepared squash to cherry syrup until squash pieces are just barely covered by syrup. Simmer 20-30 minutes until squash is lightly soft. Remove with slotted spoon into colander. (see note below about additional soak time)
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Place cooked & drained squash onto dehydrator trays, spacing evenly without pieces touching each other. Place trays in dehydrator set to 135 degrees. Rotate trays every couple of hours for even dehydrating. Gummy chews are ready when they are soft and lightly tacky but no longer sticky.
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Store in glass jars in the refrigerator and consume within about 30 days or so.
Recipe Notes
NOTE: You want to only make as much simple syrup as will cover however much squash pieces you have to keep the syrup flavor as concentrated as possible.
TIP: In the past when I didn't feel the squash pieces were strongly enough flavored (used generic drink mix that wasn't as strongly flavored) I cooled the stockpot of squash/syrup in an ice bath and allowed the squash to stay in the cherry syrup for an hour or more to soak up more flavor.
~TxH~
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This really works! The ‘candy’ was sweet and chewy. Everyone loves it! 5 Stars for sure!
My dehydrator is a dinosaur……….would you happen to have instructions for oven drying, or dehydrators with no heat regulators?
You don’t have to have a heat regulator for dehydrating these gummies Barb, I’d suggest using your dehydrator and just dry until it was still tacky but no longer sticky. Based on your humidity & how thick you cut the squash it’ll still be about 8 to 12 hours so start checking around 6 hrs & gauge from that. But if you really wanted to use your oven instead – I’ve never done that so I can’t speak from experience or knowledge. I know some folks place their heat-proof trays or rack in an oven set to about 200 degrees and prop the door open to allow moisture to escape. Ugh, that sounds like it would make the house miserably hot though. I’d suggest your dehydrator set outside during daytime hours. Critters should leave it alone during daylight hours and no heat in the house. I typically set my dehydrator up on our back porch during the day and bring it in at night if it needs further drying. Good luck! ~TxH~
Wow! I had never thought of making gummy chews before. Thanks for sharing your tips and favorites on the Country Fair Blog Party!
Not sure where my comment went. I think this is a fabulous way to get kids to eat squash. Awesome recipe. We thank you for sharing your creativity at DI&DI.
I’ve got another double batch of gummy chews in the dehydrator right now Linda. I find they’re easier made with overgrown zucchini instead of overgrown squash since it’s easier to scoop the seed section from zucchini. Next year I’ll over-plant the zucchini & see if I can just slice & dehydrate instead of using overgrown zuchs. I’ll be sure to report my findings. ~TxH~
I have such a sweet tooth! This is a way to satisfy that and actually get more veggies. Win-win! I just wish we still had squashes that were producing. I’m going to keep this in mind for next year! Thanks for sharing on the #wastelesswednesday blog hop!
This is the neatest thing! I can’t get anybody to eat squash anymore… And the thought of using those Franken-Squashes that seem to mutate overnight – I’m so excited to try this!